Bumps (TV series)

Last updated

Bumps
Genre Sitcom
Created by Lucy Montgomery and Rhys Thomas
Directed bySandy Johnson
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerPhil Temple
ProducerGeorgie Fallon
Running time29 minutes
Original release
Network BBC One
Release21 February 2020 (2020-02-21)

Bumps is a one-off British sitcom created and written by Lucy Montgomery and Rhys Thomas for the BBC, which was broadcast on 21 February 2020. The sitcom follows a sixty-two year old woman who tries, and succeeds, in getting pregnant, and stars Amanda Redman, Lisa McGrillis, Seb Cardinal and Philip Jackson. [2] [3]

Contents

Storyline

Set in Frinton-on-Sea, [4] Bumps follows Anita (Amanda Redman), a divorced sixty-two year old mother of two. Despite having an amicable relationship with ex-husband Howard (Philip Jackson), she has a poor relationship with her social-climbing sister Barbara (Louise Jameson) and her lazy children (Lisa McGrillis and Seb Cardinal), she sets upon herself to have a third child after hearing the news of an Indian woman having children in her seventies and finding out her daughter cannot have children. She successfully becomes pregnant, only to find out her daughter has become pregnant as well.

Cast

Critical reception

Viewers of the sitcom reportedly "begged" the BBC to commission a series after finding it hilarious, according to Entertainment Daily. [5] Michael Hogan of the Daily Telegraph said that it had an "intriguing enough premise" but just became a "nonsensical jumble". Despite saying that Redman's performance was "reliably excellent, whizzing about looking fabulous", he said Louise Jameson and Clarke Peters' characters were "underused". [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Danny Thomas Show</i> American sitcom

The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show focused on his relationship with his family, yet went through a number of significant changes in cast and characters during the course of its run. Episodes regularly featured music by Thomas, guest stars and occasionally other cast members as part of the plot.

<i>MDA</i> (TV series) Australian television series

MDA is an Australian television series that aired between 2002 and 2005 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It concerned the day-to-day operation of legal firm MDA, which specialised in medical defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Benjamin</span> British actress (b. 1970)

Lucy Benjamin is an English actress. After appearing in various television series including Close to Home (1989–1990), Press Gang (1989–1993) and Jupiter Moon, she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Lisa Fowler in 1998, for which she received a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the 2001 National Television Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Mitchell</span> Fictional character from EastEnders

Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. Phil was one of the major characters introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media, with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil serving as one of the show's central characters and protagonists since the 1990s. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003, then returned in April 2005 for a brief appearance before making a permanent return in October 2005, and has now overtaken Dot Cotton as the second-longest-serving character in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale. A teenage version of Phil, played by Daniel Delaney, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Owen</span> Fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders

Melanie "Mel" Owen is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tamzin Outhwaite. Mel was introduced by executive producer Matthew Robinson and made her first appearance on 19 October 1998. Outhwaite made her departure on 12 April 2002. Outhwaite's return to the series was announced in October 2017 and she returned on 9 January 2018. The actress chose to leave the soap again in July 2019 and her final episode aired on 14 November 2019 when Mel was killed-off. Outhwaite proved popular in the role, winning multiple awards and critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mel as the character became prominent in the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Mitchell</span> Fictional character

Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jack Ryder. The character debuted on 9 November 1998 and became one of the show's central protagonists, until he was killed-off on 25 December 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Mitchell (EastEnders)</span> Character in EastEnders

Kate Morton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jill Halfpenny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Fowler</span> UK soap opera character, created 1998

Lisa Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lucy Benjamin. The character was introduced as a "home-wrecking blonde" by executive producer Matthew Robinson on 7 December 1998. The character made her initial departure on 3 October 2002, when she was written out by producer Louise Berridge.

Rhys Thomas is a British director, producer, actor, comedian and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Marshall</span> Soap opera character

Beverly Marshall is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Upon her introduction on 6 July 1987, the character was played by Lisa Armytage. Following Armytage's decision to quit the role in 1988, producers chose to recast the role to Shaunna O'Grady. O'Grady relocated from Sydney to Melbourne for filming and her first scenes as Beverly aired on 16 March 1989.

Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in Peak Practice (2000–2002), Shameless (2004–2007) and EastEnders (2008) then Two Doors Down as Sandra. In 1986 she appeared in the music video for Simply Red's single "Holding Back The Years". In 1988, she appeared in the film Gorillas in the Mist.

Rebekah Staton is an English actress and narrator. She has had roles in Pulling (2006–2009), Doctor Who (2007), Rome (2007), Wallander (2011), Black Mirror (2011), Raised by Wolves (2013-2016), DanTDM Creates a Big Scene (2017), Home (2019-2020). She is also a narrator for Don't Tell The Bride (2008–present).

<i>The Queen</i> (British TV serial) 2009 British drama-documentary

The Queen is a 2009 British docudrama showing Elizabeth II at various points during her life. Broadcast on Channel 4 over five consecutive nights from 29 November 2009, the Queen is portrayed by a different actress in each episode. The series was co-funded by the American Broadcasting Company, the network which aired the series in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Windass</span> Fictional character from Coronation Street

Faye Windass is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Ellie Leach. She was introduced as a potential adoptive child for Anna and Eddie Windass in the episode aired on 24 January 2011. Faye's early storylines have included being adopted by Anna and Eddie, being the victim and perpetrator of bullying, contacting her birth father Tim Metcalfe and accusing Anna of abusing her. Her later storylines include her falling pregnant at the age of 13 and keeping it secret from her family. Faye's struggling to bond with her daughter, Miley results in her giving her up to Jackson Hodge, Miley's dad. Other storylines involve her relationships with Seb Franklin and Craig Tinker, being imprisoned after attacking Adam Barlow after a case of mistaken identity, being sexually assaulted and being diagnosed with premature menopause. In April 2023, it was announced that Leach had quit the role of Faye after 12 years, with her final scenes airing on 24 May 2023.

The Brian Pern documentaries are a British comedy spoof-documentary series about a fictional ageing rock star, Brian Pern, the former frontman of the 1970s progressive rock group Thotch. The series is written by Rhys Thomas and Simon Day, and stars Day as Pern, with Michael Kitchen, Paul Whitehouse and Nigel Havers in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Keogh</span> Fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty

Dylan Keogh is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Casualty, played by William Beck. He first appeared in the twenty-fifth series episode "Only Human", broadcast on 12 March 2011. The character was introduced as a replacement for fellow emergency medicine doctor Ruth Winters. Beck had briefly attended medical school before becoming an actor, and he felt the role was right for him. Dylan is a Consultant in emergency medicine and a member of Holby City Hospital's emergency department staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Mitchell</span> Fictional character from EastEnders

Louise Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who has been played by four different actors since her on-screen birth on 6 November 2001. Louise has been played by Rachel Cox between 2001 and 2003, Danni Bennatar in 2008, Brittany Papple in 2010, and Tilly Keeper from 2016 to 2020. Keeper's casting was announced on 16 December 2015, and she made her first appearance as Louise on 15 January 2016. The character's departure was announced in December 2019 after Keeper quit the role, with Louise making her last appearance on 24 January 2020.

Avoidance is a British comedy drama television series made for BBC One starring Romesh Ranganathan, Lisa McGrillis, Mandeep Dhillion, Jessica Knappett and Kieran Logendra. The show consisted of six episodes and was broadcast in consecutive weeks from 10 June 2022. A second series was commissioned in May 2023.

<i>Such Brave Girls</i> British Television series

Such Brave Girls is a British sitcom about a dysfunctional single-parent family created by Kat Sadler for BBC Three. It stars Sadler, with Louise Brealey and Lizzie Davidson. It is directed by Simon Bird and produced by A24 with Various Artists Ltd.

References

  1. "BBC One - Bumps". BBC.
  2. "Bumps - Radio Times". Radio Times.
  3. "BBC Orders New Amanda Redman Comedy, Bumps". I Heart British TV. 2 November 2019.
  4. King, George (26 February 2020). "Frinton is backdrop for BBC's new sitcom Bumps". Gazette News.
  5. Spence, Niamh (22 February 2020). "Viewers beg BBC for full series of Bumps after 'hilarious' pilot". Entertainment Daily.
  6. Hogan, Michael (21 February 2020). "Bumps, review: not even childbirth could be as painful as this baffling sitcom pilot". Daily Telegraph.